Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 152666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 763(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 509(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 152666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 763(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 509(@300wpm)
My soft footfall invaded the pervasive hush as my gaze wandered to the left. It was at about this spot that I’d spied the Moonfire Lily’s glow in the trees. Surprising, given how choked with vegetation and foliage the land was. It had somehow been able to glimmer through the reaching ferns and tangled vines and moss. The books said that for every flower you were able to find, there were five nestled close by, waiting for discovery.
That’s about all the information about the flower the books contained, except for the effects of using its altered, burned petal in brews, elixirs, and potions. It was an enhancement; that’s all the books said. Given the vast quantity of books I’d read about plants and their uses—all acquired from various places by Granny—and the startling lack of information on the Moonfire Lily in comparison, I had a feeling it could do so much more. Figuring out what, though, would require time for experimentation. Time I definitely did not have. Still, the enhancement portion of its powers served me well.
Walking slowly, eyes scanning both sides of the path, I watched for another plant. My focus was so acute that I almost didn’t notice that strange feeling again, like I’d felt at the work shed. Tingles washed over me, as though someone were watching my progress.
My breath halted in my lungs as a warning prickle crawled along my spine. My body froze in fear, steps ceasing. I strained, listening for movement. My knees trembled along with my hand, cold and clammy, holding the lantern up.
The emberflies started to move. A wave washed over the path in front of me, exiting left. Behind, the bugs headed in the same direction, slow at first and then fleeing madly. I’d never seen them move so fast.
Terror gripped my heart. I felt it in every inch of my body. It wasn’t just me; they felt it, too.
Danger!
I spun, starting to jog toward Granny’s house. If there was danger present, she’d handle it. Worst case, she’d know what to do to escape it. Even though she was getting on in years, she was still an alpha wolf. She had thwarted raids in the past, when other packs had invaded her businesses, intent on grabbing anything or anyone of worth. She had experience with these things. She’d know if there was a breach and she’d probably already be working on defenses-turned-attack strategies. I just had to make it to her cottage and I’d be okay.
The lantern’s glow danced wildly on the path, making the shadows lurch and jump. My foot hit a divot and my ankle rolled. I compensated immediately, carrying my weight in that direction and stepping with the other foot to keep my ankle from bending too far. Too late. Tingles replaced what probably should’ve been pain, my tolerance for pain incredibly high. My foot wasn’t accepting much of my weight.
Greatly slowed but not deterred, I limped on. I didn’t care about a sprained ankle. It would heal eventually. Granny had procured the best healing ointments and elixirs gold could buy, all the way from the dragon kingdom. Anything short of a severed leg would be fine, and even that would be preferable to what would happen if a raid captured me. I was the anyone of value they’d be seeking. Granny had taken painstaking efforts to ensure I knew what might happen to me if I was taken. What they’d do to make me cooperate. How they’d treat me when they found out I had no magic.
What I’d be forced to endure if the pack leader was male.
Tears of fear prickled my eyes as I hobble-jogged. That feeling of being watched continued, a constant itch between my shoulder blades. Whatever was there was keeping pace.
I was nearly at the bend, almost there, when the toe on my good leg hit a rock. My momentum kept going, driving me forward. My bad ankle rolled again.
I hit the dirt hard. My lantern clattered against the ground. The light winked out and pitch black washed over me.
“Shit,” I swore softly, patting the ground frantically, searching for it. “Shit, shit.”
The air thickened with an eerie stillness, interrupted only by my erratic breathing. I felt movement off to the side. Felt it, as though a string connected me to a presence in some way. A person.
A predator.
I reached farther, my shaking fingers trailing across the dirt. Wherever the lantern had landed, it was out of reach.
My movements were the only sounds I could hear. I felt it, though, those eyes raking over me. That presence drifting closer. The danger made my heart beat like that of a cornered rabbit.
My primal instincts were fine-tuned to cataloging threats and sensed the presence stopped just beyond the trees. That presence waited, and tingles danced down my spine again. It watched. In indecision? I couldn’t tell. I didn’t know what it wanted, or what it was doing. It had to be human, though. I felt that about it, a specific sort of danger that animals couldn’t duplicate. An intelligent sort of peril. The anticipation of what was about to happen seeped into my bones, making my entire body shudder.